frivolous

Etymology

From Latin frīvolus (“silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless”), with the ending modified to match -ous.

adj

  1. Silly, especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner.
  2. Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight; trivial.
  3. (law, said of a lawsuit) Having no reasonable prospect of success because its claim is without merit, lacking a supporting legal or factual basis, while the filing party is, or should be, aware of this.
    There is no easy definition for the phrase 'frivolous lawsuit,' but I imagine any claim for damages where the injuries are minimal or where the basis for the defendant's liability is hard to believe, might qualify as frivolous. August 31, 1996, Paul F. Waldner, President-Elect, Houston Trial Lawyers Association, “Viewpoints”, in Houston Chronicle
    One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits. 2005, Factcheck.org

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/frivolous), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.